There’s a very driven man with a YouTube channel who fought with Tesla for quite some time over the right to restore wrecked Tesla cars using salvaged parts. It doesn’t matter that I really believe electric vehicles — using current technology — are a complete waste of resources. What matters is how driven this man has been over the years, learning all there is to know about how Teslas are put together and how to diagnose and repair anything and everything on them. He did so all the while facing Tesla’s hostile attitude and outright interference in his efforts. He acknowledged that his persistence sounded like an obsession, but he’s a true believer in the technological concepts, as well as the basic right to actually own a physical object he can buy, and no one telling him what he can do with it. He now runs a business based on this whole idea. Yet you would be hard put to find any trace of arrogance in his demeanor; he just wants to help people.
In an interview, the legendary rock guitarist Eddie van Halen revealed how he was driven to experiment with guitars and amplifiers, learning how they worked and making some very early improvements in the actual design of the equipment. I honestly don’t like some of his songs, but I recognize his genius. Regarding his pioneering playing techniques, he openly credits a higher power that gave him his talent. He says he was driven by a sense of calling and remains humble about it to this day.
You can easily find more examples like these two. The world is full of such people, and the vast majority of them aren’t so talented, just driven. We keep coming back to this same point over and over: Seek a sense of calling from God. Don’t seek it because you want to achieve what the two men above have accomplished. They weren’t looking for fame and fortune. They were simply trying to scratch an itch; it was a matter of who they were as humans.
Isn’t it a little odd that we find paragons of faith outside of religion?
I am by no means a computer genius, nor any kind of Internet guru. I know only what I’m driven to learn about those things. Some of you have zero interest in my choice to use Linux and BSD, but I believe you understand how God uses my interest to draw people to His message. Maybe you know that I’ve also been obsessed with rediscovering the ancient Hebrew traditions, even to the point of rejecting my own cultural heritage for the most part. Every now and then I get a comment on one of the blogs from someone wanting me to go back and debate my choices. Those issues are settled in my heart and I’m not going to revisit them at the behest of someone who bristles at my faith.
I’m driven; I’m not looking back. There is no particular goal, only the sense of calling every day to go where God drives me. Yes, it tends to limit opportunities to have a better life, as most people measure such things. It tends to cut me off from friendships and even some of my earthly family. I often feel rather isolated and lonely, but I refuse to turn back. This is who I am.
This is the key to understand the ministry attached to Radix Fidem. This is who we are.
I don’t anything about rap but I understand Eminem is the same way. As a layman, even listening to his songs, I can kinda tell he’s an obsessive-to-perfection kind of guy. I think he’s even mentioned it in a few songs.
It’s a little disappointing that lots of talent goes unrecognized. One of my guitar teachers used to say, “No one know who the greatest guitarist in the world is. He’s probably ended up as some middle-management office guy.”